Safety appliance for steam-engines.



W. T. ROBINSON.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR STEAM ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 001', 25. 1913.

1,1 32,795,, Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

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SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR STEAM ENGINES.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 25, 1913. Patented Man-23, 1915.

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- WILLIAM 'r. nonmson', on ETHEL, wnsr vrnermn.

SAFETY APPLIANCE non STEAM-ENGINES.

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Specification of Letters Patent. p t t 23, 15

Application filed October 25, 1913. Serial No. 797,311.

To on whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM T. RonnisoN, a citizen of the-United States, residing at Ethel, in the county of Logan and Stateof West Virginia, have invented certain new useful Improvements in Safety Appliances for Steam-Engines, .of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in safety appllances for steam engines and the like employed for operating electrical generators,

and has for its primary object to provide a steam separator having means for automatically cutting off the supply of steam to the engine and for operating a circuit breaker actuating member, when the water in the separatingor water chamber of the.

device rises above a predetermined level, and thereby prevent the water from entering the engine and at the same time break the circuit within which is positioned the electrical generator operated by said engine.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will be of extremely simple construction and operation as well as highly efficient and effective in use and which will automatically stop the engine and break the circuit by closing the throttle valve should more water be separated from the steam passing through the separator than can be properly handled by the trap to which the water from the separating or water chamber of the device is conducted- A further object is to generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character and increase the efficiency of the same without materially increasing the cost thereof.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed, and illustrated in the ac companying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the complete device; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section of the main valve and valve stem; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section of the auxiliary valve and casing for the same; and Fig 5 is a detail longitudinal section of the circuit breaker releasing means. I

Referring more specifically to the drawings in which similar :reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout .the several views, '1 designates the upper castmg which has an upper vertical steam passage 2 and a lower vertical steam pashaving its lower end in communication with the upper end of the separator chamber 10.

The lower casting 9 also has a steam outlet passage 11, the lower end of which opens through the lower end of the casting, while the opposite end of said steam outlet as sage connects with theupper portion 0 the chamber 10, a bailie wall 12 being positioned in the steam outlet passagel-l andextendmg upwardly therein from the inner wall of the chamber 10, said baffle wall 12. having its upper end curved toward the inner wall of the steam outlet passage 11, as shown at 13. The purpose of this construction will presently appear. The inner or partition wall 14 of the casting 9 has its upper end connected with the outer wall of the steam outlet passage 11 adjacent the upper end of the latter and extends substantially parallel with the outer wall of the steam passage 8. The lower end of the wall 14, however, is bifurcated, thereby formingthe walls 15 and 16 at the lower end of the steam-passage 8 and inner end of the steam passage 11. is connected with the lower end of the outer wall of the steam passage 8 while the wall 16 forms the upper portion of the inner wall 17' of the chamber 10. It will also be understood that the wall 14 serves as the inner wall of the steam passage 8 and the walls 14, 16, and 17 constitute the inner wall of the steam passage 11. It will also. be understood that one longitudinal edge of each of the walls 15 and 16 is spaced from the adjacent walls of the casting 9, thereby permitting steam to pass over the wall 15 when entering the chamber 10 and under the wall 16 when leaving said chamber, as will be clearly understood. It will further be understood that the lower end of the wall 12 is securedto the .inner wall of the chamber 10 at the point at which the walls 16 and 17 are connected. The

The lower .end of the wall 15 outer end of thecharnber is closed by the cap 18,secured1n position in any suitable manner. A drain pipe 19 has one end secured in'the bottom wall of the chamber 10 and serves to drain Water from the chamber upon its free end, within the chamber 10;.' lit will be readily seen that as the float 24 j raises and lowers, according to the amount of water in the chamber 10, the shaft 20 will'be rotated to swing the arm 21 and thereby raise or lower latch bar 25 which hasits lower end secured to the arm 21. 'lhe latch bar is formed in two or more sections adjustably connected by the turn buckle 26, or the like, and the uppermost section25" is directed inwardly toward the upper casting 1 and then directed upwardly with itsupper extremity 27 reduced and 2 adapted for engagement in the groove 28,

all

formed in the valve rod 29, near the outer end of the, same, when the valve rod is in its innermost position and the latch bar 2.5 is in its uppermost position on account or the float 2% being in the lower portion of the chamber 10. It will be understood that outward movement of the upper end of the upper vertically directed portion of the upper latch bar section 25 is prevented by engagement of said upper end of the vertical portion'with the roller 30 rotatably mounted onthe main ortion of .theguide member 32,'the arms of which are parallel and secured to the plate 33 which is removably fastened to the outer face of the casting 1. The latch bar 25 has its upper end engaged in the guide member 32 and is thereby pre vented from moving to the side as well as being prevented from moving outwardly past the roller 30.

The valve rod 29 is slidably engaged through a suitable bearing opening 3t and has a handle 35 mounted upon its outer end while its inner end is slidably mounted upon the guide pin 36 having one end secured in the head 37 which closes one end of the horizontal steam passage 4-. An annular flange 38 is formed on the valve rod 29 nearits last mentioned or inner end and a suit able valve 39 secured to one face thereof and adapted for engagement against the valve seat 7. The valve rod 29 is forced out-- wardly and the valve 39 thereby forced against the valve seat 7 by means of a helical spring 40 or the like engaged around the guide pin 36 and having one end bearing r t-eaves against the head 37 while its opposite end bears against the internal circular flange I 41 in the inner end of the valve rod 29. 'llhe valve rod 29 has an inlet port 42 leading from the interior of the valve rod to the exterior thereof, between the internal circular flange 41 and the external'annular flange 38, the purpose of which will later appear.

The valve rod 29 has a second annular groove. 43 in its outer end within which s positioned a sleeve id to which in turn 15 pivoted asocket 45 having one end of a rod 46 adjustably secured therein, while the opposite end of said rod 46 is pivoted to an arm 47 mounted upon the stem of an auxili iary valve 48. From. the casing 49 pt the valvedS, the pipes 50 and 51 progect in opposite directions and in alinement with one another, the pipe 50 being secured to the casting l in such manner as to receive steam from the upper vertical passage 2 of said-casting, while the pipe 51 leads to a cylinder 52 within which is positioned a piston 53. The piston 53 is secured upon one end of a piston rod 54: whichprojects through'the upper end of the cylinder 52 and has the breaker releasing button 55 adjustably secured upon its upper end for en gagement with a circuit breaker to release the same and therebybreak the circuit, when the piston 53 is forced upwardly in the cylinder 52 bysteam fed to said cylinderby the pipe 51. The piston 53 is normally retained in the lower end of the cylinder 52 by a coil spring 56 engaged around the piston rod 54: within the cylinder 52. lit will be understood that a suitable waste pipe 57 is secured on the cylinder 52. A.

drain pipe 58 also projects from the valve casing 49, said pipe" extending at right iary valve 48 to the position shown in Fig:

it. When the valve 39 is opened by torcing the valve stem 29 inwardly, the rod 46 and arm 4:? are moved in opposite directions, thereby turning the valve 4-8 so that its right angled passage 'connects the pipes 51 to 58 and moves the straight transverse passage 59 out of alinement with the pipes 50 and 51, thereby preventing steam from passing from the pipe 50 'and the pipe 51'and allowing the steam wit in the pipe 51 and cylinder 52 to pass from the same through the right angled passage 60 to the drain pipe 58, thereby allowing the spring 56 to force the piston 53 and piston rod 54; downwardly to their normal positions. The

1 upper vertical passage 2 is connected with the lower vertical passage 3 of the casting 1 by the pipe 61, which will be hereafter re ferred to as the by-pass.

It will be understood that the connected castings 1 and 2 are placed in the path of the steam supply pipe, thereby compelling the steam to pass through the separator on its way to the cylinders of the engine. The valve 39 is normally in open position and the steam passes through the valve opening 6 and along the steam passages 3 and 8 to the water or separating chamber 10. The steam then passes out of the chamber 10, under the wall 16, around the turned end 13 of the partition wall 12, and out of the passage 11, while the water from the steam is deposited in the water or separating chamber 10. Should the-water bank up in the chamber 10, the float 24 will be caused to rise, thereby drawing down the latch bar 25 and releasing the valve rod 29 as previously described, allowing the valve rod 29 and valve 39 to move outwardly until said valve 39 is properly engaged against the valve seat 7. A suificient quantity of steam will pass into the hollow portion of the valve rod 29by way of the inlet port 42 and press against the end wall 62 of the hollow portion of said valve rod 29 and thereby assist the spring 40 in retaining the valve 39 in closed position. \Vhile the valve is closed, however, a sufiicient amount of steam will pass through the by-pass 61 to fill the steam passages 8 and 3 and the end of the horizontal steam passage 4 connected with said passage 3 and thereby practically equalize the pressure against the opposite side of the valve, thereby making it possible to readily reopen the valve by simply exerting enough pressure against the outer end of the rod 29 to overcome the resistance of the spring 40.

From the foregoing, it will be clearly apparent that I have provided an automatic steam and water separator which will be highly efiicient and eliecti've in use and which will automatically cut ofi the flow of steam to the cylinders of the steam engine and break the circuit within which is connected an electrical generator operated by the engine should there be too much water A device of the class described including a body casting having a central vertical wall therein provided with an opening, said casting having chambers arranged upon opposite sides of the central wall and having communication through the opening, a reciprocating valve rod mounted in one side of the casting, a valve carried by said rod and adapted to close the opening in the central wall, a guide pin slidably received within one end of the valve rod which has its outer end mounted in one wall of the cast-. ing, a coil spring upon said guide pin adapted to bear against the inner end of the valve rod to retain the valve in its closed position, the outer end of said valve rod having an annular groove therein, a separatingchamber within the lower end of the body casting, a float therein, a crank shaft connected with thefioat, a latch bar having one end connected with the crank shaft and the other end adapted for engagement within the groove in the valve rod to normally retain the valve in an open position against thetension of said spring, and said float being adapted to actuate the latch .bar to disengage the same from the groove, and permit of outward reciprocation of the valve rod to close the valve.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM T. ROBINS ON.

Witnesses:

C. D. HIGHTON, H. O, WALDEN. 

